The present disclosure broadly relates to the art of gas spring devices and, more particularly, to end member assemblies and travel-restraint assemblies dimensioned for operative connection to the end member assemblies for use in forming gas spring assemblies. Gas spring assemblies including such end member and/or travel-restraint assemblies as well as suspension systems that includes one or more of such gas spring assemblies are also included.
The subject matter of the present disclosure may find particular application and use in conjunction with components for wheeled vehicles, and will be shown and described herein with reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the subject matter of the present disclosure is also amenable to use in other applications and environments, and that the specific uses shown and described herein are merely exemplary. For example, the subject matter of the present disclosure could be used in connection with gas spring assemblies of non-wheeled vehicles, support structures, height adjusting systems and actuators associated with industrial machinery, components thereof and/or other such equipment. Accordingly, the subject matter of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to use associated with gas spring suspension systems of wheeled vehicles.
Wheeled motor vehicles of most types and kinds include a sprung mass, such as a body or chassis, for example, and an unsprung mass, such as two or more axles or other wheel-engaging members, for example, with a suspension system disposed therebetween. Typically, a suspension system will include a plurality of spring devices as well as a plurality of damping devices that together permit the sprung and unsprung masses of the vehicle to move in a somewhat controlled manner relative to one another. Movement of the sprung and unsprung masses toward one another is normally referred to in the art as jounce motion while movement of the sprung and unsprung masses away from one another is commonly referred to in the art as rebound motion.
In some cases, it has been deemed desirable to reduce the overall weight of motor vehicles, such as to improve fuel efficiency and/or to increase the transportable payload for the same gross weight vehicle. Reducing the weight of one or more components of the pressurized gas system of vehicles can be one contributing factor to achieving such a goal. In many cases, conventional end members have been designed and constructed from metal materials to provide desired performance characteristics, such as strength, rigidity, and robustness of connection with the associated components and/or structures. Reducing the size of such components or changing the material from which the components are formed can be useful in contributing to the reduced weight of a vehicle suspension system, such as has been described above. However, it has been recognized that such alterations to known constructions can result in corresponding reductions in performance.
Additionally, vehicle suspension systems of a wide variety of types and kinds have been developed and are commonly used. Components of such vehicle suspension systems are often secured between opposing structural members that move relative to one another during travel between jounce and rebound conditions. In many applications and uses associated with wheeled motor vehicles, the suspension system of the vehicle is adapted and arranged such that there are substantially no operating conditions, during normal usage, under which the plurality of spring devices would be tensioned or otherwise undergo a tension load. That is, the configuration and/or use of conventional suspension systems is such that the spring devices are not tensioned under during rebound motion and are generally used in compression under normal operating conditions.
In other cases, however, the suspension system of vehicles can be configured in a manner that will allow the spring devices to experience conditions under which the spring devices are extended beyond a typical or normal condition of use. Such over-extended conditions are generally deemed to be undesirable. As such, a variety of arrangements have been proposed to prevent the occurrence of such conditions or to at least reduce the effect that such an event has on the structure and performance of the spring devices. However, known travel-restraint devices can undesirably increase the weight associated with the suspension system of a vehicle.
Notwithstanding the common use and overall success of known gas spring constructions, it is believed desirable to develop constructions for gas spring assemblies and/or components thereof that are capable of providing improved performance or other characteristics and/or overcoming disadvantages of known constructions while promoting relatively low costs of manufacture, ease of assembly and/or otherwise advancing the art of gas spring devices.